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Summary

You'd think that after the apocalypse things would sort of stop happening. But, despite the closure of Darksiders publisher THQ and developer Vigil, here we are with a third game in the series. It's developed by Gunfire Games, which is largely staffed by former Vigil developers, so the hack 'n' slash monster-fest is in safe hands.

This time out the protagonist of the piece is Fury, called down from Heaven by the Charred Council to restore humanity and prove her might as the strongest horseman. Like the second game's protagonist Death she's quick off the mark, making the combat a faster affair than the heavyweight Zelda-like combat of the first game. As a mage Fury uses whips at a distance, increasing her range and offering up some environment traversal options. New to combat is a counter system - time a response to an attack right and you'll achieve devastating effects. The timing's different for different enemies, so you'll need to stay on your toes. Speaking of enemies - there are less of them this time but they're tougher than in previous games, making precision more important this time out.

As ever you can improve Fury's abilities by gathering XP, but there are new elemental abilities called hollows now. The fire hollow, for example, gives Fury fire-based powers in combat but also enables her to do things like a boosted jump or walking through lava, opening up new areas of the map. Some work's been put in to making the map feel more organic, too. The dungeons all join up and the world feels more lived in, making it all feel a bit more organic.

Of course, the 90s comics vibes inspired by comics legend Joe Mad return, as does the general over-the-top style and massive action. This is, after all, the apocalypse, and you're one of its horsemen!